Amber Fur
by Sivillian
Summary: Treepaw is full of herself. She's the leader's daughter, a beautiful queen's only kit, and there's no way she can get in trouble. She can get anything she wants. She falls in love with a tom with amber fur and they go out on an adventure. She finally gets a reality check. Just kidding. COMPLETED.


Amber Fur

RadianceClan Challenge: Apprentice Meets Loner

Warning: Young she-cat, full of herself!

* * *

It was a warm leafall day. The trees were turning into the colors of flame and the bramble thickets turned crisp. I relished the attention my Clan was giving me.

"Treepaw! Treepaw!" They cheered.

I sat by my mother, Willowtail, as the cats of ThunderClan meowed my new name. Just moments ago my father, Barkstar the leader, had performed my apprentice ceremony.

He was looking down at me from the Highrock. I knew he was proud of me. But did he love me? Most certainly not! Do you know who gave me as my mentor?

It's that lazy queen, Fireface. She was once my mother's apprentice. But still! Fireface had sustained a bad injury last season and she's been doing nothing but hang around camp with a broken leg. Plus, she has almost no skill. I don't know why my father gave me a new warrior as mentor. He should have mentored me himself!

But it pleased my mother that her former apprentice was now my mentor. I could at least try to make it work I suppose. I shuffled my paws around on the dusty earth as my new mentor padded over to me.

"Why don't you go meet the other apprentices? Then we can go for the tour of the territory." The plump she-cat suggested to me.

I threw my head up and gave her a small, reluctant nod. I should be treated better than a regular cat! Willowtail is the most respected queen in the Clan. She has amazing warrior skills and the most beautiful silver marbled fur. And my father is the leader himself. Fireface shouldn't talk so freely like that to me.

I bid farewell to my mother, glad that she is returning to her warrior duties. The other apprentices were waiting for me by the apprentice den. I proudly paced over to them. I heard that the older apprentices were hard on the younger ones.

"Hello, Treepaw." The oldest apprentice purred, giving me what looked like an admiring stare. "You know us, but let's start with formalities. I'm Pikepaw."

"I'm Tawnypaw." A brown tortoiseshell said. Her eyes glared at me. I bet she was jealous that Pikepaw was speaking to me instead of her.

The sandy ginger she-cat spoke up next. "Narrowpaw." She mewed quietly.

"I'm Sunpaw!" The young yellow tom meowed.

"I know that mouse-brain." I swiped my paw over Sunpaw's nose. He's barely any older than me. We would go on fun adventures when we were in the nursery. My favorite was when we found the WindClan medicine cat and deputy in our territory. We got in lots of trouble that day.

I then looked up at the last apprentice. I didn't really recognize her... Pikepaw brushed his tail over her shoulder.

"Iyum Adderpa." She said. I gasped to myself a little bit. Adderpaw had such defiance to slur her words at me! I had to look away. Her left ear was nothing but jagged skin. It was ugly.

"Adderpaw is half-deaf. Well, more than half actually." Pikepaw explained.

With relief, I could tell they were littermates. They both had beautiful mottled amber tabby pelts. Tawnypaw was glowering at Adderpaw.

The tortoiseshell leaned down into my ear and whispered, "I hate Adderpaw. Pikepaw always gives her more attention."

I nodded, feeling a little afraid at the sour smell of anger rolling off of Tawnypaw. But I also saw that I had a rival for Pikepaw's heart. He was so handsome...

Sunpaw nudged me with his nose. "Your mentor is waiting for you, Treepaw."

* * *

I've been apprentice for two moons now. Leaf-bare is coming soon. The trees are sparse and when I look up t the tallest trees there are strange shadows. When I go to Tallpines, there's a lot of prey noise but no prey scents.

More odd, Pikepaw and Adderpaw are still apprentices. They should have become warriors moons ago. I think it's because Adderpaw can't do anything and Pikepaw is always doing daring things like raid kittypets and fight loners.

I looked up from the mouse I was eating. A handsome amber tom was looking down at me. "Hey, Treepaw."

"Hey, Pikepaw." I swallowed the last bit of food and stood up.

"I saw a loner in the Twolegplace. Do you want to go fight him?"

I looked around. No cat had overheard us. If we snuck out at night no one would know. Plus, of we did get caught, I'm the daughter of Barkstar and there's no way I'd get in trouble.

We snuck out of camp through the entrance to the dirtplace. It was easy. Then we raced each other to Tallpines. Pikepaw let me win. Then we jumped up onto the Two-leg fence.

"The loner is black and white with a dingy pelt. He doesn't have a collar." He said to me, looking around the nests for the loner.

We padded along the fence towards the Treecutplace.

"Hello?" A deep voice called out.

A black and white tom stepped out from a bramble den. "Who are you?" I demanded boldly. He looked scrawny, so I was certain we could raid his prey and get back to camp. There was bird scents wafting from the den.

"Clover." He meowed.

"One," Pikepaw whispered, staring at the loner. "Two," he brushed his tail along my silver dappled pelt. "Three!"

We lunged at the tom down onto him from the fence. He yowled in pain as we battered him with sheathed paws. Pikepaw cuffed hik over the head and I ran into the scruffy tom's den. A couple small birds were tucked in the earth. I began to uncover them.

Suddenly, I heard a choking sound. It was the sound of a cat choking on blood. Good job, Pikepaw! I uncovered the birds. I picked them up and padded out of the den expecting to see a dying loner.

But instead I saw blood staining a handsome amber tom. Clover looked at me. He wasn't scrawny he was lean and muscular.

"This is a warning." He snarled. "Get out now or I'll kill you too."

I dropped the fresh-kill and pelted back to the forest without looking back. That tom wasn't a loner. He was a rogue. Pikepaw is dead.

I got back to camp as the dawn sun began to rise. No cat suspected anything of me. They just assumed Pikepaw left the Clan and became a kittypet. Fine by me. I let them believe that.


End file.
